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Power On Stall

by Jason Schappert

Why is it some students find stalls….Power on Stalls “Scary”? Maybe they weren’t taught right? Maybe they weren’t ever explained the reason why we practice them?

Power on stalls can be intimidating, we’re at a high angle of attack, high power setting etc…

However when you have a proper procedure and understand the reason why we practice stalls you’ll not only make yourself safer but a better pilot.

Check out this weeks video as I take you through my power on stall procedure.



Don’t forget to leave me a comment on what you think. Any advice on helping others with stalls? Or What’s your experience with stalls? Leave me a comment below.

  • http://profiles.google.com/milescowan Miles Cowan

    Just a nit, but when you point out why students are scared of power-on stalls (as opposed to power-off stalls) you mention one reason being a “high critical angle of attack.” Since the wing will stall at the same angle of attack (which happens to be just beyond its “critical” angle), the difference in the sight picture that spooks students (as it did me the first time my instructor demonstrated a power-on stall to me) is actually the high nose-up attitude against the horizon, which will tend to be higher than in a power-off stall when the maneuver is entered from level flight because of the direction of the relative wind in relation to the horizon.

    If you demonstrate an improper stall recovery by bringing the nose back to the horizon too quickly and approaching (or triggering) a second stall with the nose level to the horizon, it would really drive home the “an airplane can stall at any airspeed/any attitude” concept.

  • http://twitter.com/jasonjflaherty Jason Flaherty

    I love the feeling of stalls. Feel the buffet!  Oh and use that rudder to keep it in coordination, not much if any aileron!

  • Steved350

    Thank you very much for making that video. My problem was being very nervous and not thinking through the hole procedure. Those camera angles were just what I needed. Thanks again.

    Your the man
    Stephen

  • http://twitter.com/coreyz5 Corey Z

    Thank you for the correction! This is a fundamental concept. 

  • Debbie

    Hi Jason,  Thanks for the on power on stalls. I was one of those who was not taught right.  I flew a C-152 and never had a problem with stalls because I knew how to get out of them.  One day I did a power on stall and we ended up in a spin.  My instructor was not paying attention and finally came to attention after me screaming a few times. I do not have the plane.  We were facing down and spinning.  I neutralized the controls immediately and pulled the power so what was happening would happen slower (I thought).  My instructor kept yelling if I wanted to die.  She never explained what I had done wrong.  She made me do more power on stalls as I was crying and telling her I did not want to spin again.  I walked away from flight training.

    A year later a friend talked me into going back to training with his instructor.  He was great and helped me loose my terror of power on stalls but, he got a job a left soon after.  Ten year later I am again in training with a great instructor. He got a job again and I looking for another instructor now.
    I felt that fear again as I watched your video but, it is irrational because I am not in the plane now.  I am watching your video a lot to do this stall without the irrational fear given to me by a really bad instructor.  

  • Hughes379

    Good video!!!  I was just working on power on stalls a little bit ago. Until I really got to see  it performed I think its actually an easier stall to get into than a power off stall. I say that because on approach your mind seems to think more about “flying down” to the runway beacause its a target. On climb out like you sed it could be easy to get carried away on where your headed or maybe even radio chatter if in a congested area i.e. daytona. If that is an off the wall opinion ket me know..

  • http://www.willifordmusic.com Dave

    Thanks for the video Jason! I always ended up rolling after the stall. It made me nervous about a spin. Spins made me nervous because I was afraid I would “lock up”! I was doing two things wrong. One, I was not keeping the ball centered. Two, I was not breaking the stall fast enough. I was just pushing forward on the yoke gently while trying to level the wings. My new instructor has helped me tremendously!

  • Jheymd

    Dr. Wonder of soaring instruction fame says that with new students just don’t use the word “stall”  since the public thinks that means the plane falls out of the air and crashes.  He just tells the student that he is going to show them how the plane flies and demonstrates a stall and lets them do it.  Later he tells them it is a stall.  In my day we had approach to landing stalls, and departure stalls.  I think your key point to slow down first like on rotation speed then power into the stall and recovery is the answer.  If you start a stall from a high speed and jerk the rotation too fast the deck angle will be high ((like doing a loop) and maybe a “whip stall” will be entered and that is no fun.  We must never scare our students.  They can scare us but that is why CFI’s only sweat on the right side of the face!   Good video. 

  • Jheymd

    Dr. Wonder of soaring instruction fame says that with new students just don’t use the word “stall”  since the public thinks that means the plane falls out of the air and crashes.  He just tells the student that he is going to show them how the plane flies and demonstrates a stall and lets them do it.  Later he tells them it is a stall.  In my day we had approach to landing stalls, and departure stalls.  I think your key point to slow down first like on rotation speed then power into the stall and recovery is the answer.  If you start a stall from a high speed and jerk the rotation too fast the deck angle will be high ((like doing a loop) and maybe a “whip stall” will be entered and that is no fun.  We must never scare our students.  They can scare us but that is why CFI’s only sweat on the right side of the face!   Good video. 

  • Jheymd

    Dr. Wonder of soaring instruction fame says that with new students just don’t use the word “stall”  since the public thinks that means the plane falls out of the air and crashes.  He just tells the student that he is going to show them how the plane flies and demonstrates a stall and lets them do it.  Later he tells them it is a stall.  In my day we had approach to landing stalls, and departure stalls.  I think your key point to slow down first like on rotation speed then power into the stall and recovery is the answer.  If you start a stall from a high speed and jerk the rotation too fast the deck angle will be high ((like doing a loop) and maybe a “whip stall” will be entered and that is no fun.  We must never scare our students.  They can scare us but that is why CFI’s only sweat on the right side of the face!   Good video. 

  • Asghar shah

    Jason,
    love the 3 camera set up great video thanks.

  • Anonymous

    Miles,

    An airplane can stall at any airspeed, bank angle, or pitch angle. However like you said always the same critical angle of attack. When I say “High Critical Angle Of Attack” What I’m meaning is we’re reaching that critical angle of attack at a much higher attitude than normal. As opposed to i’m sure we’ve all done steep turns early in our training and heard the stall warning horn go off.

    Make sense?

    Jason

  • Anonymous

    Thanks Man!

  • Anonymous

    Awesome Dave!

    You’ve got to break that stall quickly! 

    Don’t worry about spins otherwise you’ll end up being in one. Do like you said and keep that ball centered, wings level, and break that stall.

    Jason

  • Anonymous

    Exactly, maybe you just get distracted or carried away with the entire situation. Regardless both are big time potential stalling areas.

    Jason

  • Anonymous

    Debbie,

    Your situation is all too common and the reason I do what I do.

    Poorly taught maneuvers not only make students more dangerous but instill fear in them. Now how can you go and be a confident pilot with that thought always looming… “What if I stall?”

    You need to first find a CFI that is full-time (meaning that’s their career). Not going to run off on you or anything. Interview them, explain to them your problems and fears.

    From there you’ll need to ease back into training and soon stalls.

    Start like I mentioned in the video. Just at 50% power and slowly increase it.

    You need to unlearn your fears.

    Jason

  • Anonymous

    Great Stephen,

    Now that you have that procedure. When you’re driving to work or sitting in bed just run that procedure through your head. Flying is all mental man

    Jason

  • Anonymous

    You’re correct. Those ailerons don’t do a whole lot during a stall :)

    Jason

  • Anonymous

    Thanks man,

    You’re right we can never scare our students. Stalls are something you ease into

    Jason

  • Darren

    Nice video. When I was learning power-on stalls, my instructor would have me turning while climbing. I also flew in different types of planes during training, was cool to see/feel how each one was a little different in stalls.

    Keep up the great vids!

  • Lee Turner14

    Hi Jason. Good clear video on power on stalls. Thanks. Do you teach spinning recovery on the FAA sylabus? Also I find most C150/C152 will not stall cleanly without at least some power left on. Whats your experience?

  • Jack

    Fantastic video! I like the three camera angles – they really give a good sense of what is going on inside and outside of the plane.

    But I’m wondering if I just had wonderful teachers, or if I’m not as wary of stalls as I should be . . . I love doing them (on purpose)!

  • Mark C

    Jason,

    Kudos on the new camera setup. Have you won CFI of the year yet?

    My current instructor is awesome. He has me power the C152 back to 1900 before starting the clearing turns, so while holding my altitude it slows right to 60. I get practice at holding altitude while in slow flight, managing workload, and setting up for stalls all at the same time.  No one likes the high nose angle when doing departure stalls, but learning to look out the windscreen and control the nose with the rudder made me a lot more comfortable with it. There is only one thing which matters during a power on stall, keeping the plane coordinated so it doesn’t try to drop into a spin, and there are only two things to look at to accomplish that – the view out front, even in a clear blue sky you can tell if the nose is sliding one way or the other, and the ball, an occasional glance at which will affirm your proper use of rudder.

    For students who are afraid of spins, just remember that the airplane knows how to fly, and if you stop messing it up, it will fix itself. So, if you accidentally drop into a spin, just neutralize everything, essentially let go of the controls, and most airplanes will fly themselves out of it.

    Both of my instructors, in the Champ and in the C152, have used deep stalls to help me get comfortable with controlling the plane with the rudder and keeping it from spinning. For those who’ve never done them, you do a power off stall and just hold it, don’t let the plane recover, and hold the wings level by correcting with the rudder opposite of the way it tries to dip. This is a LOT more active in a Champ than a C152, in fact, in the Champ it’s called a falling leaf drill because that’s exactly what you resemble as you first dip left, then counter, then right, etc. C152′s pretty much pick a side they want to fall toward (usually left) and you just need to find the right amount of opposite rudder to hold them as you slowly mush down. In either plane, lower the nose a couple degrees below the horizon, put in power, and you’re flying again. I hated doing my first few stalls in both planes, and probably won’t like them in whatever model I next do them in, but knowing that I can control the airplane out of one makes me feel a lot better. My first school actually required us to do spins in the Champ, and after doing that successfully, there were no maneuvers which really scared me ever again, even when we hit wind shear 30′ above the runway on takeoff and I thought the plane was going upside down, I just flew out of it (and maybe sweated just a little more).

  • Rob

    Hi Jason,
    During my check ride, I nearly created a spin during my power on stall recovery. During the oral the DPE & I were discussing “right rudder right rudder” so during the stall, I of course over did the right rudder & we began to bank to the right. I got it corrected just as he was about to reach for the stick. Your final comments during your video was very useful. Glacing at the ball would have kept me coordinated & avoided the near spin. Thanks, always enjoy your videos.
    ps- the rest of the check ride was great…passed first try. These DPE’s just want to be sure you are not a risk to yourself & others. Use your brain & be careful. He told me before the check ride, don’t do anything Dumb, Dangerous or Different & you know… it really helped. You just do everything you have done in practice in the same manner.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks Darren!

    You’re right each aircraft reacts differently however the neat thing is the initial recovery stays the same. Get that nose down and add that power! :)

    Jason

  • Anonymous

    Thanks Lee!

    I do make my students spin. Preferably before they solo yet sometimes hold off a bit based on the student and the circumstances. (Don’t want to scare a student silly a few days before a solo) I’ve taken a lot of grief for this. People saying spins are not required and I shouldn’t do them.

    So I’m supposed to just tell you what to do? Why not show you. Duh! 

    It’s like when CFI’s simulate soft field landings on the pavement? Get out there and do the real thing

    Sorry for the rant.

    To answer your question yes you need to carry a bit of power rolling into a spin in a 150 not much though. Otherwise it will never break

    Jason 

  • Anonymous

    hahah Jack!

    You may just fall into that group of “crazy people” :)

    I enjoy practicing them too don’t worry, you’re in good company

    Jason

  • Anonymous

    Awesome Mark!

    Thanks for the comment :) !

    Sounds like you and your CFI are really on your A+ game

    Know what the airplane feels like in those slow sloppy configurations is vital 

    and understanding “deep stalls” is one thing unfortunately not to many students get to do

    Jason

  • Anonymous

    Rob!

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    Your DPE said it best when he said don’t do anything Dumb, Dangerous, or Different. Wow! I think i’ll use that at one point or another!

    The checkride really is just like flying with another instructor. You know exactly what needs to be done.

    Jason

  • http://profiles.google.com/tpaladino77 Thomas Paladino

    Power-on and power-off stalls were both scary parts of my training, although not for the best reasons. 

    When I first started my training, my original instructor had a real fear of spins and as such, had apprehension about doing stalls; a fear which transferred to me, the more I flew with him. 

    As I neared completion of my requirements and started to go on checkout rides with the chief pilot of my school, he noticed my deficiency in stall training and spin awareness. I told him about my experiences, and that  the instructor had drilled into me how dangerous the maneuvers were, and thats why we didn’t spend much time on them. As it turns out, I never once completed a full stall to the point that the aircraft broke lift; he would always end the maneuver just before it happened. As such, a critical part of my training was missing. 

    The chief pilot spent a couple of hours doing nothing but power-off and even induced spins with me, just to get me over my fear. It was tremendously valuable experience, and really made a lot of what I was learning in ground training finally make sense. After a few more flights with him, I found myself WAY more confident going into my solos and checkride. It really made all the difference. 

    Just a good anecdote on the importance of proper instruction.

  • http://twitter.com/Windtee Aviation T-Shirt Art

    Awesome cam-angles, Jason! Looks great! They give so much more depth and dimension to your already fine instructional vids.

    Bryan

  • Tommy

    Hey Jason, 
         Great video. I must say that stalls was not one of my most favored things to do during training. It just seemed unnatural to me to make an airplane FALL. LOL. I have been burdened to do practice runs more often lately. I wonder and you should ask your viewers just how often do they as new or even seasoned PP go up to just practice.

    Tommy
    PrivatePilotInsider.com 

  • cavmedic

     For your outside shots, what mounting system are you using and how are you recording audio? Are you using a digital recorder and then mixing it in later?

  • Fdsa123

    I hope you teach them the correct spin recovery technique as opposed to the one you use in your “Spins” video.

  • Mark C

    Fdsa, if you are going to make a comment like that, please expand on it and tell us what is wrong in the video, so we can all learn from you.

  • Dan

    Jason,

    I watched you power-on stall video and really like your instruction style. One thing that you might want to edit in your video is to give a more clear explanation of the difference in nose high attitude and critical angle-of-attack. You give the impression that the airplane has a higher critical angle-of-attack when performing power-on stalls than when the airplane stalls at other times. One thing that is important for the student to understand is that the airplane always stalls when the wing reaches it’s critical angle-of-attack, regardless of the aircraft’s speed or attitude. The rolling tendencies are more pronounced at higher angle-of-attacks when associated with higher power settings. The same rolling tendencies would occur during a power off stall if full power were applied while approaching the critical angle-of-attack (which is why we use so much right rudder when practicing slow flight).

    Anyway, I hope this helps. I like your instruction style and all that you do.

  • Harry

    Jason,
    First of all, I’m a student pilot LSA near my checkride.  I think you might be the most helpful individual I’ve ever come across.   Thanks for all the great videos and great attitude to go with.  I couldn’t hear anything you were saying on this video (power on stalls) Sound is working fine cause I could hear motor just fine

    Any Suggestions,
    Harry

  • Bighoss944

    I heard nothing you were saying just the engine running.  The pic was ok but useless without verbal instruction??

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